Pokémon How do you decide which game version to buy?

[~Kilza~]

How do you decide which version of the game to buy?
It's just whichever one I vibe with more, typically determined by the legendary on the box art.

Do you buy one or both versions of the game?
For the most part, I have and will continue to only buy one version of the game. The lone exception to this was my first generation with Ruby and Sapphire, where I ended up getting Sapphire a few months after Ruby, though I can't really remember why I got Sapphire, lol, maybe just due to the version exclusives. But otherwise, I just feel it's unnecessary to buy more than one version, since the story doesn't change enough to warrant buying both, plus it's a lot easier to get any version exclusives these days.

Did you buy third versions of any games? Or only third versions? How do you feel about Nintendo dropping this concept?
The lone third version I bought was Crystal from the 3DS Virtual Console, since it made more sense to buy it than Gold/Silver. I'm fine with third versions no longer being a thing, since these days it honestly wouldn't make any sense to buy either of the initial two versions if I knew there would be a third, more "complete" version coming at a later date. I think the way it's handled these days (just the two versions + DLC) is acceptable, since buying the DLC is optional but provides more new content than the third versions ever did imo.

 

[Holla]

Originally I thought I chose by colour but after choosing Scarlet I realized the cover Pokemon/Legend is what makes me choose one version over the other. It just so happened that up until Scarlet my favourite cover legend has been my choice of colour as well.

Post automatically merged: Jul 12, 2024

Just noticed more questions to the original post haha.

For the second question I typically only ever buy one version of the game. I don’t play enough to need two copies plus it feels like a money grab. They are the same game at the end of the day.

For third versions I’m fine with them being gone. I never really chose them technically even though they were better versions of their trios. My first game was Emerald but I honestly knew nothing about Pokemon when I chose it and just asked the kids at school what version I should get and it was the newest one at the time so obviously Emerald is what they told me. Crystal I got long after it came out so hard to say if I would have chosen it back in the day. Finally Platinum while so much better than Diamond and Pearl I didn’t chose it as a kid as it was more expensive (I was buying the game with my allowance) and I didn’t like the look of origin form Giratina so I chose Diamond instead.

 

[VillageDweller]

How do you decide which version of the game to buy?
Usually just based on the boxart legendary, I think the only time that version exclusives aside from the legendary have swayed me was for Scarlet over Violet - and then I much prefer Koraidon anyway after playing it!
Do you buy one or both versions of the game? + Do you buy them both at the same time or one and then the other? If so how do you decide which version to buy first?
When I was younger I liked to get both, just because.. I was a child and absolutely loved Pokemon so didn't mind playing through the game twice hahaha. For the earlier gens when I got multiple games, it was just based on the boxart legendary again. Dialga is my favourite legendary for this reason! I tend to get the 'red' games but there are a few blues! For the order of generations:

Gen 3: Emerald was my first one, so no choice here. I did get FireRed afterwards, and then LeafGreen sometime later.
Gen 4: Diamond first, then Pearl later on, and then Platinum when it came out. I got HeartGold as well.
Gen 5: Black and Black 2.
Gen 6: Y, and Omega Ruby.
Gen 7: Moon (didn't bother with USUM)
Gen 8: Shield
Gen 9: Scarlet

Did you buy third versions of any games? Or only third versions? How do you feel about Nintendo dropping this concept?
Well I started with Emerald, as I wasn't aware much of Pokemon until Emerald had already been out for some time and I saw it in a shop on my birthday and wanted it as I'd finally gotten a DS (never had a GBA!) so I could play it. I did enjoy Platinum a lot, and I liked the sequels of BW2, but I had no interest in USUM despite them being regarded as the superior versions for Gen 7. However now I think the approach of DLC for both games is much better than releasing a full fledged third version - it makes the initial purchase not be, well, pointless lol, and allows you to just carry on using your same Pokemon if you want to in the DLC.

 

[Rainbowhorn]

Unlike most people (I think), I like to plan my teams beforehand, with some changes if I feel like it as I play, so I like to get the Dex spoiled as early as I can.
With that in mind I see if the version exclusives of each game and pick the one that aligns more with my plans, it hasn't failed me so far

 

[nightglow]

I love third versions. They are the best impo. I didn't like them dropping it but I understand why that choice may have been made.

I never bought both versions of a Pokemon game, but was always up for buying the third version if I could. Didn't mean I succeeded though.

When choosing between two versions I would look at the Pokemon that were exclusive to that version and think about how likely I would miss that Pokemon, if I would want to use it, or even which general exclusive roster I liked more. Then, I would look at the box legendary which isn't as important to me, but I'd still have to look at it in the story so .

 

[Asarena]

How do you decide which version of the game to buy?
I usually base my decision on the legendaries, version exclusives, and clothing color options.

Do you buy one or both versions of the game? Did you buy third versions of any games? Or only third versions? How do you feel about Nintendo dropping this concept?
Just one, I don't think I've purchased both versions for any game. For third versions, I've played a couple. I don't really mind the concept being dropped.

The games I've played are:
Gen 1: Yellow, I didn't choose this one. It was my brother's game, so I assume he picked it out. It was the first Pokemon game I played, and I had a lot of fun with it.
Gen 2: Gold and Crystal, same situation where these were my brother's games.
Gen 3: N/A
Gen 4: Platinum
Gen 5: N/A
Gen 6: X and Omega Ruby
Gen 7: Moon and Let's Go Eevee
Gen 8: Shield and Arceus
Gen 9: Violet

 

[LoveGraceMarie]

I only buy one version. That decision comes from a 50/50 split of the general aesthetic (including that of the exclusive legendary) and the version exclusives

 

[JemAC]

I generally pick the one with box art legendary that I like the look of best, sometimes I’ll check to see which version exclusives each one has but overall they’re not as important to me as the legendary. I always stick to one and then one of my siblings usually gets the other one fortunately so am often still able to trade.

 

[.: Meri :.]

How do you decide which version of the game to buy?
I generally factor in most of the version differences in my decision, but I think I value them in order of setting/theme = available Pokémon (might take precedent if one version is strongly weighted with Pokémon I like over the other, but if it's a mostly even split then I look more at other factors) > differences in Gyms/clothing/miscellaneous features > box art color/title/legend! White and White 2 were my Gen 5 picks largely because I knew I'd prefer White Forest and the historic-themed Opelucid City over Black/Black 2's more modern/city themes for both locations. With ScarVio I chose Scarlet because I preferred the version exclusive Pokémon and have a preference for its "past" theme, though I do prefer Violet's uniform colors.

Color/title comes last because for the other reasons, I almost always end up with the "warm"/red version even though I strongly prefer cool tones/blue. Pokémon X is the only "blueish" one I wound up with, whereas on the warm/red side of things I've got HeartGold, Omega Ruby, Ultra Sun, Shield, Shining Pearl, and now Scarlet lmao

Do you buy one or both versions of the game?
I was more interested in playing both when I was young, but one version is plenty for me now ahahah. I don't really strive for full Pokédex completion, and the differences between versions are so negligible in the long run that I don't feel like I'm missing out on all that much by just buying one. I think I'd need the differences to be much more drastic, or for each version to have something I felt very strongly about to make me go after both versions.

Did you buy third versions of any games? Or only third versions? How do you feel about Nintendo dropping this concept?
...omg I'm almost too young for this question to apply to me. Platinum was my first and only third version game! If they'd stuck with it I'd probably just wait for the more definitive third versions to come out, but it doesn't matter to me all that much since I still hold off for a bit anyways.
The recent DLC idea is convenient and I like it, but I still wait until we actually know they're going to release DLC, because they seem to change their "later version" formula up a lot (first we had third versions—except for remakes—for awhile, then actual sequels for Gen V, then... nothing for XY at the time (RIP), then Ultra versions of Sun and Moon, and now DLC for SwSh and ScarVio) and I don't trust them enough to buy right away LOL

 

[IonicKarma]

Pretty much which one has the legendary I like more. Version exclusives I can always trade in but rarely can you trade box legendaries

 

[Zerous]

I used to get both versions but for the past few generations just the one. I usually decide the main game by looking at the differences, normally the legendary being my biggest deciding factor. But like for gen 7 I mainly played sun because I liked the timing being in line with my own even though I preferred Lunala, and for gen 9 I chose violet primarily because the clothing looked a little better. For gen 5 my decision was based on which copy I could get first since they're hard to get for a decent price, so I played white which works since I prefer Zekrom.

Spoiler: full list

Gen 1: Only pokemon yellow! I'd love to go back and play one of the others though eventually.

Gen 2: Pokemon silver and crystal (3ds digital) I recieved as gifts and actually still haven't played, but I've been meaning to

Gen 3: All of the main 3! I played them on my ds lite but now I also have a gameboy sp. Emerald is definitely my favourite though for the extra content. I also have leafgreen and I don't think I'll get firered.

Gen 4: All 5 games! My first ever full game was Diamond (technically part of platinum but that's a bit of a longer story), which I chose because I liked Dialga. Overall Platinum would be my choice now for the bonus content, although all of them have a special place in my heart. I also have both hg and ss, which I love very much, but I prefer ss because of Lugia, and the cave/water area it's in. The tower is very beautiful though.

Gen 5: I now have all four, but my main profiles are on white and black 2, because of Zekrom. I like both aesthetics though so I didn't mind too much, although I didn't know about that when I started playing them.

Gen 6 :All 4! Main profile was X because I liked blue HAH, and I liked both legendaries. I mainly played oras again, because blue, and Kyogre is my favourite. I mean, it's just a big fish!

Gen 7: I have sun (my main profile, due to the time correlation), moon, and ultramoon (because I wanted to have the opposite one I played for the first game).

Gen 8: I have shield! I chose it almost entirely because of Allister, because I wasn't a fan of either legendary, but I love ghost type pokemon HAH.

Gen 9: only violet, again because of the clothing option, and I prefer miraidon!

 

[Coach]

It depends on the version exclusives, mainly. I'd like to collect and potentially shiny hunt certain mons more than others... Although the story does sometimes change, it usually isn't by that much. Although I was swayed towards violet by the clothing options too!

 

[Aerith]

I've almost always picked by whichever legendary I like better. For the first generation, I picked Yellow because I liked Pikachu back then, but if I had to pick between Red/Blue, I would have picked Blue. When Fire Red and Leaf Green came around, I picked Leaf Green because of Venusaur.

Scarlet/Violet was the first generation I didn't feel any preference when it came to the two. They're both 'meh', so I just went by whatever color I liked better lmao. I would have picked Scarlet if it wasn't a horrible orangey color, so I went with Violet.

 

[S.J.]

I like to get both versions when possible, though for which to play, I'll try to weigh up the differences between the games!

• Which game colour or name I like more
• Which legendary I like more
• What's exclusive to each version
• Any other differences

Usually it comes down to what Pokémon are exclusive to a version.

For Pokémon Scarlet/Violet, I decided based on my name preference. It also helped that the Dreepy evolution line was Violet exclusive, because that's a line I would have wanted to level up while playing. I liked the Scarlet legendary more than the Violet one, but it wasn't enough to convince me (though I did buy both versions at the same time).

For Pokémon Sword/Shield, I was originally going to go with Shield based on the cover art and a preference for that legendary Pokémon, but the store I went to didn't have it, so I did end up with Pokémon Sword first! That was good for me anyway, because the Jangmo-o evolution line was Sword exclusive, and was also really happy with being able to use Rufflet/Braviary and Mawile. I know I can get those Pokémon through trades, but I do really like to catch the ones I'll level myself.

 

[Hyoon]

How do you decide which version of the game to buy?
- gonna be honest sometimes i go entirely off of vibes alone LOL. version exclusives are whatever to me as u can always trade. sometimes i will pick depending on which legendary looks cooler as well. i think two games on top of my head where the gameplay actually mattered were pokemon sun/moon and black 2/white 2.

Do you buy one or both versions of the game?
- never. i don't want to waste my money and the difference between versions are so miniscule lol.

Do you buy them both at the same time or one and then the other? If so how do you decide which version to buy first?
- same as above. wouldn't buy both.

Did you buy third versions of any games? Or only third versions? How do you feel about Nintendo dropping this concept?
- a lot of the time i don't actually buy pokemon games right away. by the time i decide to pick it up a third version is already released lol. in this case, i would go for the third version. if i already bought the intial versions, then i wouldn't buy the third version. i enjoy pokemon very casually and it's not a game i would spend extra money. the third version idea always seemed money grab-y to me anyways.

 

[Mr.Fox]

Ultra Sun/Moon were the only entries where I purchased both versions (and regret nothing). Otherwise I’m just boring, I check which Pokémon are exclusive to each version and pick based on that.

 

[Dim]

How do you decide which version of the game to buy?

Whatever the mascot I like the most. In this case Charizard, Lugia, Groudon (I'd say Kyogre is tied though), Dialga (almost got pearl but I prefer Dialga anyway), Zekrom, Yveltal, Lunala, Eevee, Zamazenta (not much of a fan of Sword/Shielf mascots though), and Miraidon.


Do you buy one or both versions of the game? Did you buy third versions of any games? Or only third versions? How do you feel about Nintendo dropping this concept?

Mostly one but I've bought both for Sun/Moon and Scarlet/Violet. I've gotten third versions for each generation except Yellow version. I feel it's a good option but they need to do more rewards for preordering both versions like a poster or something.

 

[Giddy]

I usually decide depending on the legendary Pokemon and sometimes the Pokemon you cna only get in one of the games.

I definitely remember picking Pokemon X for the Legendary, and same for Pokemon Moon, but I like getting all the games when I can (still trying to get Lets go Pikachu and sword ;_; )
I chose SoulSilver as well~

When it came to scarlet and violet however, I got the double because I do really like the steelbooks!!